Offense:
9

Defense:
0

Utility:
21

Introduction

Hey Mobafire, I'm a veteran Veigar player and I've decided to share my build for him as a guide. When I first started playing League of Legends, I knew I wanted to be a glass cannon player. Veigar's stats are what brought me into him - maximum Ability Power with minimum defense and offense. He was the first champion I had gotten, and I've been playing him ever since.

But sometimes, glass cannon isn't enough. After trying a few of the build guides here (such as Veigar, the Tiny Master of HOLYGODSOMUCHBURST by FreeStyleKneePad) I realized that I would always be put as #1 on the enemy's hit list. Every time a teamfight came along, it was stun/silence, then insta-death for poor Veigar. What if you could have that nuking power, and still have to have the entire enemy team to focus you before you die? This is where the legendary top-tier uber-fed pentakill TANKGAR comes in.

Pros / Cons

Pros

+Massive damage+Good against AP-stackers+Takes a while to kill+Farming your Baleful Strike gives you more AP+Champion kills gives you more AP

Masteries

I go 9/0/21 for the 10% Magic Penetration and utility bonuses. 21/0/9 is viable for the additional damage. I wouldn't put points in Defensive masteries on Veigar.

Skills

Equilibrium - Veigar's passive ability. It increases your current mana regeneration by 0.75% for every 1% that you are missing. For example, if you have 10 mana regeneration/5 seconds and have 0 mana, this passive would give you 17.5 mana regen/5. It doesn't completely solve Veigar's mana problems (well, late-game it does) but it seriously helps. Not a bad passive.

Baleful Strike is Veigar's power-up in the game. Every time you kill a minion with Baleful Strike, you gain 1 AP. Kill 100 minions with this? You've just gotten 100 extra AP.

Also, it gives you AP whenever you kill a champion, equal to the skill level. For example, if you have 2 points in Baleful Strike and kill Kennen with Dark Matter or something, you gain 2 AP. 3 if you killed him with Baleful Strike.

Dark Matter - This is the bane of minions. Huge damage and an area effect. What's that? 40 minions are attacking your turret? Well, drop these for the 1,000 gold you're about to get.

This is a major part of your combo when nuking enemy champions. It's downside, however, is that it acts similar to Kog'Maw's Living Artillery. It's extremely obvious when you're using this, and only stupid people are going to walk into it. Use Event Horizon before trying to hit someone with Dark Matter.

It also sucks up mana like crazy.

Dark Matter

Event Horizon - This is Veigar's one and only defensive ability - you drop this massive ring on the ground with E, and anyone that walks into its edges will be stunned. You can use it to trap people in the center, save a teammate that's running away, lock someone in a turret, set someone up for your Dark Matter, etc.

This ability has the potential to stun the entire enemy team, and can make or break team fights. Everyone gets mad at you if you miss... so practice with this ability a lot. And 2.5 seconds makes it almost as unfair as Malzahar's ultimate.

Primordial Burst - The mage-killer. If it weren't for this ability, you couldn't call Veigar an anti-mage. If you are fed, you can kill someone with this ability alone. It's so overpowered it's hilarious. (Also, I'm pretty sure this is the name of a monster truck.)

Let's say that you have 500 AP - not too hard to get when you're farming your Baleful Strike. You have 3 points in Primordial Burst, and you're using on a Lux that has 400 AP and 40% magic resistance.

Since Primordial Burst does 500 damage + 120% of your AP + 80% of their AP, let's do a little calculating.

(500+500x1.2+400x0.8) x 60% = 852 damage after resistances!!!

Obviously that's not enough to one-shot Lux, but if you're super-fed and have over 1000 AP, then it could happen.

The point is: every time you use this, someone should die.

Items

Core Items:

You should get these items every game.

Deathfire Grasp - I love this item. Since it was reworked recently, it adds even more damage to Veigar's combo. The 15% CDR is nice, and if you have 500 AP this does 45% of their health in magic damage to the target. Deathfire Grasp is basically Madred's Bloodrazor for mages.

Rod of Ages - This is an all-around good item. A bunch of HP, mana, and a decent amount of AP. There's a reason why I've always built it on Veigar.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter - Normally I wouldn't get this item, I would get another Rod of Ages to procure more AP from Archangel's Staff's passive. But this is Tankgar. We're going for good damage with great survivability. The 500 health is massive, and the 80 AP helps too. I never seem to notice the slow though. Maybe it's because they die too fast?

Warmog's Armor - This gives you more HP than any other item in the game. Do you know how demoralizing it is to see a 4000 HP Veigar nuke two of your champions at the same time? This is the overkill. A fully-stacked Leviathan would probably be more beneficial, but similar to the Mejai's Soulstealer effect, it magically makes everyone target you.

Summoner Spells

Exhaust

I always take this on tanks, but Tankgar is not a true tank. There are better options for you, I believe. There may be a time when you wish you had this though.

Ghost

There's an ongoing debate about whether to take this or Flash. I would say Flash, since it gives you better juking opportunities, but it's just my personal preference.

Heal

You are not the AD carry, it's not your job to rush into team fights and deal damage to everyone. You run in, do your combo, then back up. I can see it being used early game, or to bait someone, but I don't use it on Veigar.

Revive

Smite

I have heard legends about Junglegar, but that's not what you're going for.

Surge

Why is this even an ability? I would only take it on someone like Katarina or Kog'Maw who benefit from both AP and attack speed.

Teleport

Allows you to protect your lane forever. Go back to heal/buy stuff, then just tp back. Can also be used for an instant gank. If no one else on your team is taking this, then go for it.

Cleanse

Meh. I've never cared for this one. I can see its uses, but Flash is better in my opinion.

Clarity

I take this on Veigar in 90% of the games I play as him. There is nothing more satisfying than luring a half-dead Akali out, using this, then instantly stunning and nuking them. Isn't as useful in late game, but gives you a strong start.

Ignite

This is a good summoner spell. I don't take it because I have confidence not to nuke unless I'm sure I can kill, but I have lost a few kills because I haven't had it. Also good against Dr. Mundo and Volibear.

Tactics

You are going mid lane as Veigar, of course. Unless you're laning with a friend or something.

I'm going to make this very clear: the less your opponent harasses you, the better. You do almost no damage ta level 1, and your main objective early game is to farm your Baleful Strike. Best case scenario is that you're against a Kennen - you stay behind minions, and he's useless. Ahri is also a decent enemy, since she only has skillshots and pushes the lane to your turret.

If you are against one of these champions, or someone who you think is better then you, play defensively and only worry about farming your AP. Maybe ask for a gank from your jungler.

The most important ting is to keep building up that Baleful Strike. I usually feel good if I have 50 AP from it at the 10-minute mark, 100 at the 20-minute mark, etc. Later on it will be harder to farm because your teammates will be greedy and try to split farm with you, so do it while you can.

At level 6 you can start trying to nuke your enemies. Weaken them with Baleful Strike, then unleash this combo on them:

E -> W -> 1 -> Q -> R

This combo will demolish any glass cannons that the enemy team has, as long as you're not underleveled. It can also be used to scare off tanks, but you should save this nuke for a kill. Deathfire Grasp and Primordial Burst will have a similar cooldown if you took the right masteries, which is convenient. Be sure to let your teammates now when your nuke is ready.

If you have the time to gank, go do it. Veigar ganks are legendary, and they WILL burn up a summoner spell if they want to survive. Your Event Horizon is deadly, and they should know it.

It is hilarious playing as Veigar. In one game, I was playing against an Annie in the middle. She was fully healed and going in to drop the Summon: Tibbers on me, and I saw an Amumu come out of the jungle to gank me as well. Here's what happened: I used Event Horizon on Annie, then nuked her from full health to nothing almost instantly. I watched Amumu run away crying back into the jungle.

Don't underestimate your ability to fight other casters.

Late-game is where you have the chance to go Tankgar. Smart enemy players will be telling each other to focus you... which comes back to hurt them when you have 4000 health. It takes forever to get the full build, but when you do I can say that if you have a competent team, you should be unstoppable. The other team will have to deal with a nuking tank that can stun everyone.

Unfortunately for this build, Madred's Bloodrazor is Tankgar's downfall. Simple solution: if you see a Vayne with one, nuke that person first. It comes with the benefit of taking down their main damager as well.

Summary

You start out as the glass-cannon that Veigar is known for, then build him into an unstoppable force. Squishies will run from the sight of TANKGAR, because they know that one Event Horizon and it's all over.

If you try Tankgar, give me a comment on how it works out. I'm interested in seeing if other people will enjoy playing Veigar the way I do.

-XX Stone

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I want to play Tankgar?
Playing Veigar without defensive items leads to him being focused and killed almost instantly. This build gives him a lot of survivability while still being able to nuke.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!